Fashawn Ode to Illmatic (Mixtape)

Ask a hip-hop head what he or she considers the essential classic album and you’re likely to receive a sprawling list that changes depending on who you’re talking to. But one thing is for sure: Nas’s debut, Illmatic, will be on that list, many times at the number one position. As such, it’s difficult to not be skeptical when an MC announces he’s going to make an ode to that record by spitting over the instrumentals. But if there was ever a rapper to do so, it’s Fashawn. Like Nas, this California spitter possesses a knack for lyricism and telling a story with his bars. And, if nothing else, hearing Fashawn rap over beats from DJ Premier and Pete Rock should make Ode to Illmatic a mixtape worth hearing.

Abstract by Andrew Martin